P2P

59 I L T A N E T . O R G M anaging a law firm in this era of rapid change is a massive challenge. It's hard to know the right thing to do. It feels like the ground is constantly shifting. Your firm's lawyers are giving conflicting reports on the state of business while your clients keep demanding "more for less." Many legal tech companies are stepping up to help with these challenges. Yet these companies often meet resistance from the very firms they are trying to help. I'd like to introduce Sean Bernstein. Sean is a co-founder of MinuteBox, a next generation cloud-based minute book and corporate records solution for law firms, accounting firms and internal legal departments. As an entrepreneur in the legal space, he's spoken with dozens of law firms, ranging from single lawyer offices to global behemoths. As a result, he has some thoughts on what distinguishes innovative law firms from more traditional firms. This article presents both the "outside looking in" and "inside looking out" perspectives when it comes to what makes a law firm "innovative". Following Sean's remarks, I offer some thoughts on how things look from within a law firm. Overall, we conclude that although certain firm attributes are prevalent in innovative law firms, such attributes are quite limited in predicting a firm's "innovativeness". Instead, the proper circumstances appear to be a more reliable indicator of a modern innovative law firm. Sean's Observations From my experiences as a legal entrepreneur I've come across commonalities inherent in more innovative firms. In my ideal world, these attributes would permeate across every law firm globally. These attributes include: being proactive about risk, streamlined processes for implementing new technolo, dedicated resources for innovation, and strong senior leadership support for innovation. Being Proactive About Risk Trying something new requires taking on some risk. But risk is inherently unavoidable. Ironically, given today's changing legal landscape, not doing anything can be just as risky as trying something new. In some cases, I believe maintaining the status quo can be problematic. Understanding that indecision is still a decision, innovative law firms put themselves in the driver's seat by proactively choosing which risks to take and which to dismiss. Closely tied to understanding risk is understanding your firm's internal pain points. Firms that have identified their pain points and strategic direction in advance (usually through in-depth process mapping) have an easier time deciding what to buy and what solutions fit within their risk tolerance profile. They also avoid being surprised by a problem and making reactionary decisions. In the context of MinuteBox, our team has mapped out a spectrum of firms ranging from those merely curious about our solution to those who have clearly identified and "Clear and consistent communication enables each person to handle their part of the job independently."

• Cover